Ashton Kutcher's Twin Lives A Normal Life Out Of The Spotlight

People may know a lot about the life of Ashton Kutcher, but some fans might have missed that Ashton has a twin brother, Michael Kutcher. In fact, Michael said on the "Koncrete" podcast in 2019 that his parents didn't find out they were having twins until two hours before Michael and Ashton were born. Michael was born five minutes after Ashton on February 7, 1978, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Michael said in the podcast interview that he had to stay in the hospital for a month after birth because he was not breathing properly and was severely underweight. "They didn't know if I would survive, but you know, I kept fighting," he said. Michael was diagnosed at 3 with cerebral palsy, a lifelong neurological disorder that affects his vision, hearing, and speech, and causes some muscle weakness in his right side. Before he became an adult, Michael also received a heart transplant, after his heart grew four times too big, and had two further open heart surgeries after getting blood clots.

Ashton and Michael went on to live two very different lives. While Ashton became an actor, Michael moved up the ranks at Transamerica, a life insurance and retirement company, and, as of writing, is a business development strategist there (per LinkedIn). Michael is also a Cerebral Palsy Foundation spokesperson, a husband, and a father to three children. Michael's first child, Jackson Kutcher, was born in 2004, and in 2019, Michael revealed to US Weekly that he had married a woman with two children of her own.

Michael Kutcher told Today Parents in 2021 that he initially avoided talking about his cerebral palsy when he was growing up. But, according to Michael, this information was revealed to the world when Ashton Kutcher said it in an interview in 2003. "I was very angry," he said. "I didn't want to be the face of CP."

Michael said his attitude changed a few months later after meeting a mother from Iowa and her 5-year-old daughter, Bella, who had a severe case of cerebral palsy. "I realized I needed to let go of the shame I felt and be a champion for people like Bella. I was finally ready to tell my story and I knew because of my twin, I'd have a big reach," he said.

Though Ashton had a close relationship with his twin growing up, the pair had a rift in their 20s when Ashton's Hollywood career was on the rise. In 2022, Michael said on "The Checkup With Dr. David Agus" (via Los Angeles Times) that he became envious of his brother and did not like it when his brother took pity on him. But the twins sorted out the tension with a conversation, and now rebuilt their relationship. Michael said of Ashton on the "Koncrete" podcast, "He's one of my best friends, he's a great inspiration to me and role model to me."